The Shores of Eire
by Toki Aramis
Summary: Okay, It's the story of Duo's unknown past. For those who have tried to read it before, I tried something new and I think it uploaded without combining paragraphs and ruining the format, so hopefully it's easier to read this time. Thanks Tokia!
1. Chapter 1: Return to the Past

The Shores of Eire Author: Toki Q Aramis  
  
All right, minna-san, hopefully the format didn't get screwed up this time. If this works, Tokia, I owe you one! Thanks.  
  
For everyone who has tried to read this and found it too annoying, I hope it's easier to read this time around.  
  
Plot: The G-boys are on vacation, but they'll find no relaxation in the abandoned country of Ireland, where ghosts roam free and the banshee's wale is as deadly as ever. This is very much AU, and non-yaoi, I read it but can't write it, besides this plot requires that Heero, Duo, and Wufei be straight. Quatre and Trowa can be gay if you want, it just isn't really in the story. Plus if you like Relena, don't read this, she doesn't get Heero, she might not even show up, and if she does I will kill her off very quickly and bloodily followed by much rejoicing.  
  
Disclaimer: No, I don't own them, I looooooooooooooooove them, but cannot feasibly hold claim to them. So please don't sue me, all you'll get is a roll of duct tape and a few dried roses.  
  
Chapter 1 Return to the past . . .  
  
The boys entered the Irish castle, and put their bags down in the main hall so they wouldn't have to lug them around with them when they looked for rooms. It was like something out of the Middle Ages (it nearly was). The island country had been devoid of human life for over two hundred years. The reason had been lost in the centuries of shuffle, but it was still avoided like the plague, which is what the boys needed. The docs had promised them a vacation on a desert island (ha ha ha). They didn't mention that by 'desert' they meant 'deserted by humanity for reasons unknown'.  
  
Duo was quiet, too quiet, and had been since they got off the boat. Usually the least stoic of the five pilots, he had now out-silenced even Trowa, but after a sea voyage of listening to his endless complaints of motion sickness, most simply enjoyed the silence. Quatre on the other hand was worried. Duo hadn't been still this long since a head wound last summer. That time he was nearly dead, and that worried Quatre all the more now. Something was wrong, he just couldn't figure out what it could be.  
  
Suddenly, Duo stood and left the small chamber they had all chosen as a common room. Wufei raised an eyebrow at his abrupt exit, but made no move to stop him. Quatre, on the other hand, followed his braided companion without a word.  
  
He followed him up several flights of stairs until he finally entered a large study. Quatre entered the room slowly, wondering how Duo knew where he was going. Heero was the only one that had bothered to explore the castle yet, and they hadn't seen him since he'd started out half an hour ago. He found himself in a cluttered room, obviously it had been left in a hurry. Stacks of parchment still lay on the desk. Several sheets were scattered on the floor. Two of the walls were filled with loaded bookshelves from floor to ceiling. The wall between them, opposite the door, held a large, bay window with a wide ledge.  
  
Upon this ledge sat Duo. He turned to Quatre slowly. The blonde boy gasped at what he saw. Duo's eyes had paled to a dead white, and he had a pallor to match. He looked like a week-old corpse. He opened his mouth to speak, but the voice that issued forth wasn't Duo's. It was a low bass that shook the room, and even the thick Irish brogue couldn't mar his words.  
  
"Leave! Leeeaaaavvvve ye weak little nothin'. This isle donna belong to the likes o' ye ennamore, It belongs to the spirits ye forsook. Leave or die and join us, inse—"The threat continued, but Quatre didn't stick around to hear it. He turned and ran blindly down the corridor. He didn't know where he was going or what he was looking for. He skidded to a halt in front of one room. He'd seen movement inside. He peered in, hoping it was one of his friends, and that this one wasn't dead and yelling at him. He peered around the door and saw a lock of brown hair and the tip of a yellow shoe.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\ Heero had stumbled onto the small library while he was searching for places they could sleep. It seemed to be filled with books about ghosts and magical creatures of Irish legend. Most of them were written in Gaelic, but a few were in English. He had just found an aged volume that seemed to be a history of the castle, when he heard someone running down the hall. He saw Quatre peering cautiously around the door before he walked in slowly. He was shaking and obviously frightened. He spent several minutes just staring at Heero's eyes like he was trying to figure out who he was.  
  
Then he sighed and almost collapsed. He caught himself on the side of the desk before Heero could reach him.  
  
"Duo . . . .eyes . . . .. insect . . . . yelling." He managed to gasp out a few intelligible words, but none of that made sense.  
  
Heero had no idea what it meant, but he knew if it had rattled the other boy so badly it couldn't be good. He looked Quatre in the eye and spoke slowly, in an attempt to calm him down.  
  
"Quatre, where is Duo?"  
  
The smaller boy took another deep breath and turned to lead Heero down the corridor. His mind was racing, what could have happened. What did Duo's eyes have to do with yelling at insects? And why was Quatre so gripped with fear?  
  
They stopped in front of a large wooden door that was half closed. Quatre nodded at the door but wouldn't go in. As Heero reached for it, the door slowly swung open on its rusting hinges. It was a bit like the library he had just left, but with a large window opposite the door, and a bigger desk in the center of the room. His partner was sitting on the window's ledge staring out at the overgrown gardens below.  
  
"Duo, Quatre said there was som—"  
  
Duo turned dead eyes toward Heero. His mouth stretched open and he emitted a hellish scream, like the banshees of Irish legend. As he screamed, a strong whirlwind blew through the room, knocking books off of the shelves and sending papers flying. It centered around Duo, and lifted him high into the air directly above the desk. A white mist slowly separated from Duo's limp body and disappeared, along with the wind, dropping Duo onto the desk with a resounding thud.  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
"Daijoubu desu ka?"  
  
Misca waited for her friend to come out of her trance. She was worried about her behavior of late. In the two hundred twenty-seven years that the blonde witch had known her, she had never been this distant from every one for more than a day or two. Sixteen years was too long to mourn anyone. 'And she's gotten so thin.'  
  
"Hai, daijoubu. You really love that language don't you."  
  
"It's the only thing I know that's older than I am. Will you tell me  
what's wrong?"  
  
"Oh, I'm alright, but the spirits are restless." Her dark-haired  
sister's answer relieved the ancient witch.  
  
"What is it this time: banshees, trolls, or hobgoblins?" The last was said with obvious distaste. Misca was tired of shuffling the country's inhabitants for the sake of a few disgruntled ghosts, but she was glad that was the problem. She remembered the days when her friend's silences meant something much worse.  
  
"None of the above."  
  
"Pixies?" They were her last hope that this was going to be easy.  
  
"Humans."  
  
The blonde looked shocked for a second, and then burst into a nervous laugh.  
  
"You won't believe this, but I thought you just said there were humans in Ireland."  
  
The younger witch stood there, blank-faced, a trick she had picked up from the last human to visit the emerald isle. "I did."  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Wufei and Trowa stood up in alarm as Heero entered the room carrying Duo's limp body, with Quatre trailing behind them still wide eyed and shaking. They cleared the luggage from a sofa and helped Heero arrange his unconscious burden. Quatre pulled a small bottle of smelling salts from his bag and handed it to Heero; unwilling to get too close to his fallen friend.  
  
"What did the baka do this time?" Wufei asked trying to cover any concern by sounding annoyed.  
  
"Wufei, just shut up and help me wake him up. I only know a little more than you do, so you can't have answers till he's conscious."  
  
"My apologies." Wufei sounded more curious about Heero's emotional display than apologetic, but Heero didn't really care if he meant it or not. His main concern was Duo. His best friend had just fallen eight feet out of midair onto a hardwood table and he didn't even know how it was possible, let alone why. He opened the bottle of smelling salts Quatre handed him and held it under Duo's nose, not really knowing anything else to do except wait, and he hated to wait.  
  
Suddenly Duo began to stir, coughed weakly, and tried feebly to push the bottle away. Quatre took it and put it away as Heero and Trowa propped Duo up in a pseudo-sitting position.  
  
"What happened, and what am I doing here?"  
  
"Maxwell, what's the last thing you remember?"  
  
"Who's Maxwell, and who are you guys for that matter?"  
  
Heero sat down on the floor . . . hard. Everyone seemed to be in a state of shock. They'd all seen soldiers with amnesia, but never one they knew, never one of their own.  
  
"So you don't remember anything." Quatre had gone from frightened friend to parent mode, while the rest of them went further into panic.  
  
"I 'member plenty. My name is Duo Solous, my mommy's name is Qahlen, my daddy's Roan, and they live with my aunts on the other side of the forest. And whoever you are, you shouldn't be in this castle the ghosts don't like people, actually they don't like anybody, but 'specially not people."  
  
"He must have hit his head harder than we thought. He's fallen into some sort of delusional state, maybe a childhood fantasy or something."  
  
"Hey, Blondie, you don't have to talk 'bout me like I'm not here, Aunt Misca does that and it drives me crazy, maybe it's a blonde thing." Duo crossed his arms and tried to sit up a little further, but he got dizzy and thought better of it.  
  
"Duo, how old are you?" Heero asked, hoping to figure out his friend's strange behavior.  
  
"I'm six and a half." Duo said proudly showing them on his fingers.  
  
"How old was he when Father Maxwell found him?" Quatre asked Heero, hoping he had more information than the rest of them.  
  
"He was guessed to be about seven, he had no memory of anything up until six months before entering the orphanage."  
  
"So he may just be remembering what he lost ten years ago."  
  
"That doesn't make any sense, there aren't any castles on the L2 colony, he wouldn't know where he was, and he wouldn't know this place was haunted."  
  
Wufei and Trowa both raised querulous brows at that last word.  
  
"He was possessed by a ghost, who yelled at Quatre about not belonging here, dropped Duo eight feet onto a table, and disappeared, which is why he doesn't remember anything."  
  
"Eon O'Shea," Duo yelled at the ceiling, "You promised Momma you wouldn't do that anymore!" The room shook in response. Duo cringed.  
  
"He's right, we shouldn't be here, I'll take you to my house, Momma will know what to do with you." Duo jumped up to go and immediately collapsed back onto the couch. "Or maybe not."  
  
Quatre sat down on the edge of the sofa next to Duo and pushed a lock of hair out of his face. "Don't worry about it, Heero and Wufei will go find your mother for you."  
  
Heero nodded while Wufei glared at Quatre for daring to volunteer him for anything, let alone a fruitless search for a dead woman that more than likely had never set foot on this planet.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
"I can't believe you agreed to do this."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"I can out silence you any day, Yuy."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"This is a waste of time."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"I know your vocabulary extends beyond 'Hn'. You proved it earlier."  
  
"Your worse than Duo, but the same solution should still work."  
  
Wufei heard a very loud ripping sound, followed by another.  
  
"Heero what are you—" Wufei suddenly found it very difficult to speak, as there was a strip of duct tape over his mouth. As he moved both hands to remove the obstacle, Heero grabbed them both deftly in one battle-scarred hand, taped them together, and turned to move on.  
  
"Hmmm Hmmmmmmmm HMM!!"  
  
"Come on. We've got a lot of ground to cover before nightfall." Heero resumed walking toward the forest as a very baffled and bound Wufei followed quickly behind him.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\ 


	2. Chapter 2: Child of Darkness

Chapter 2 Child of Darkness  
  
Quatre finished tucking Duo in for the night. He was still a little unsteady, but with Trowa's help they had managed to get him to a bedroom without too much trouble. He blew out the candle on the nightstand and stood to leave.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Duo, I really need to go to bed now."  
  
"But—"  
  
"But what, Du-chan." Duo seemed to respond better to that nickname than anything else.  
  
"I'mfrdofthdrk."  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"I'mafraidofthedark."  
  
"I'm sorry, Duo, but I still didn't catch it." Duo took a deep breath to say it again when Trowa spoke up.  
  
"He said, he's afraid of the dark."  
  
"Oh." Quatre bit his lip. As the youngest of 30 he hadn't had to help anyone with a fear of the dark, he didn't know what to do. So he did what he always did in times of desperation, he asked Duo.  
  
"What does your mother do when you have to go to bed?"  
  
"She makes a light in the ceiling that stays on till I fall asleep."  
  
"Like this." Trowa flipped a switch on the far wall.  
  
"No, but that'll work. Goodnight, Mr.'s Trowa and Quatre, sirs."  
  
"Goodnight, Duo"  
  
Trowa and Quatre walked down the stone corridor toward their rooms.  
  
"I'm worried about him, he honestly believes he's six years old."  
  
"Don't. He'll remember us in time. It's the two you sent out into the forest in the middle of the night with ghosts and who knows what else that I'm worried about."  
  
"Well, I had to get Duo to calmly wait here for his memory to return. Plus Heero needed something to do. Duo's the only true friend he's ever had, it would hurt him too much to be constantly reminded that he doesn't remember him."  
  
"So why send Wufei?"  
  
"Mainly, so he could watch out for Heero."  
  
"And?"  
  
"I also wanted him as far away from Duo as possible."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because a six year old child shouldn't be exposed to that much griping and Chinese profanity, and I couldn't stand to hear him whine about how weak he is now."  
  
"It'll be alright, and who knows they might just find a cottage with an middle aged woman named Qahlen who's still mourning her long lost son."  
  
"Do you really think so?"  
  
"Stranger things have happened." And with that they separated to adjourn to their own beds in hopes of a quiet night's sleep.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Heero stopped and adjusted his pack. He looked back across the marsh where he could just barely see the castle they had left three hours ago. 'Don't worry, Duo, I'll find her.'  
  
"Mhmhm!"  
  
"Hn." Wufei was standing two feet away glaring like the end of the world. With the hints of a mischievous grin on his stoic face, Heero reached over and ripped the duct tape from his Chinese companion's mouth.  
  
"Kisama, I'll run you through when we get back, then I'll throw your dyeing body out the tower window, and I'll lau—"Wufei went back to glaring as the duct tape was once again hindering his speech.  
  
"Hn." It was amazing how smug that one syllable could sound.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Quatre woke to the sound of footsteps in the hall. Hesitantly, he got out of bed and lit a candle. With that in hand he went out into the night to investigate.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Trowa had been following Duo through the labyrinth of halls for fifteen minutes, and he heard Quatre not too far behind him, he just wished he would put out that damned candle before Duo noticed. He wanted to know what he was up to, and where he thought he was going.  
  
Their braided friend led them through libraries and dining halls, ballrooms and billiards rooms and down halls lined with paintings of aristocrats and dusty cobweb covered suits of armor. Finally, he stopped in a room they'd found earlier, the kitchen. Trowa sighed, they'd been creeping along for almost an hour, and all he wanted was a midnight snack. Duo had put his candle on the counter and was just opening the icebox they were using, when he finally realized he'd been followed.  
  
"Uhm, hi." He looked ashamed at being caught and drooped his head in dismay. "I'm sorry, I was just hungry, I'll go back to bed now." Quatre caught up with them just in time to witness Duo's confession and watch him walk back toward his room gloomily shuffling his feet.  
  
Trowa and Quatre, sighed in relief. Halfway back to his room, Trowa heard a scream. He ran toward the heart wrenching sound. He found Quatre floating near the ceiling and Duo yelling at some invisible person to put him down. Finally whatever it was dropped the blond boy. Trowa barely caught him, before he could hit the flagstones. Quatre was terrified and just clung to Trowa's shirt. The taller boy carried his friend all the way back to Duo's room where the three of them sat together and decided they would share a bed, for one night at least. There seemed to be safety in numbers around here. Trowa and Duo decided it would be best for Quatre to sleep in the middle, he was still shaking badly and needed to feel safe more than even the child Duo believed himself to be.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Heero looked up to see the sun setting over the wood before them, and decided to make camp. After the incident at the castle he wasn't want to enter the forest at night. He took his time setting up a fire pit and laying out the bedrolls, before grudgingly going over to release Wufei.  
  
"I can't believe you did that."  
  
"Untaped you? I'm sorry, but it was necessary. I'd prefer it if you were capable of defending yourself should we be attacked."  
  
"By what, Yuy? More ghosts, or are you expecting a troop of fairies to come out and try to lure us into their magic kingdom?"  
  
Heero simply 'Hn.'ed, curled up in his sleeping bag and went to sleep. Wufei grumbled as he searched through his bag for the ration bars he'd packed. He hadn't eaten since they set out, for obvious reasons. When he looked up from his pack, he saw several bright lights flying around the border of the forest. He stared for a moment then blinked several times to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him. When the lights remained, Wufei, in all his dignity, dove into his sleeping bag and hid.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
By the next morning, the three were a tangle of arms and legs. Trowa found himself in bed with two snugglers. Sometime in the night he and Quatre had switched places and now both of his friends were firmly attached to him. He tried to sit up, but it was hopeless. He knew these guys; they slept like rocks. He was going to have to wait till they woke on their own, and after last night's scare there was no telling how long it would be. A few hours later Duo sat up and yawned. Quatre soon followed suit and they both sat up and looked at Trowa. The simultaneous laughter made him cringe. He'd never really bothered with mirrors in the morning, his hair style was pretty simple. Gel it all straight forward and a little to the side. Now he wished he knew what he looked like before that first comb through after sleep.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
"Duo," Quatre opened the door to Duo's room, "I brought you breakfa—"He was gone. Quatre ran down the stairs toward the kitchen. "DUO! DUO!" Trowa woke again to find himself the only one left in bed and Quatre shouting at Duo, which was strange since Duo wasn't even there. Wait, where was Duo? He jumped out of bed and joined Quatre in the shouting as they ran through the house. Finally they went back to the kitchen.  
  
"Mornin' Trowa, Q-man. Where's the milk, I know I brought some—"Quatre ran up and hugged him fiercely.  
  
"Whoa! Q . . . Q-man . . . QUATRE!!"  
  
"Sorry, it's just that you're you again, and you remember us, and . . . you don't remember yesterday at all, do you?"  
  
"No, not really. Did I hit my head or something, 'cause all I remember is the boat."  
  
"You . . . fell. Does the name Qahlen Solos mean anything to you?"  
  
"No, should it?"  
  
"No, it's nothing, never mind."  
  
"'kay, about that milk?"  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Heero and Wufei were nearing the edge of the woods; luckily the packed dirt road they had taken through the marsh seemed to continue through the heart of the forest. If anyone still lived among those ancient trees, logic dictated that they would be near the road. Heero hoped logic still had some say on this haunted isle.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
"Uhm, Quatre, where're Heero and 'Fei?" Duo asked as he and Trowa sat down to the dinner Quatre had prepared.  
  
"They . . .went for a walk."  
  
"When did they leave?"  
  
"The day before yesterday."  
  
"And you just let them go?! They can't spend all night out there. We don't know what scared the rest of humanity away. They could get hurt out there and we wouldn't even know where to look!"  
  
"Duo, calm down. They'll be back in a few days. They just wanted to find this cottage that used to be on the other side of the woods."  
  
"I can't believe this. I'm goin' out to look for them. I'm out of it for a day and everybody disappears."  
  
"Duo, you can't go out there, you were injured, you need to stay here and rest. They've been fighting a war most of their lives, they can handle anything they come across."  
  
"You better be right."  
  
"You know I am."  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
"Argh!"  
  
Heero ducked as the whatever-it-was swung at him with it's clawed fist. It was huge. Wufei was unconscious in the middle of the road where he'd been thrown moments before. Heero pulled his gun and shot where he thought the creature's heart should be, but the bullet ricocheted and grazed his own arm.  
  
"What is this thing made of?" He finally gave up and shot aimlessly at the beast. The creature was about six meters tall, with bulging muscles and fallow skin. It reeked of rotting foliage and dead animalia. Heero fired one last time and hit the creature's one eye. It finally stopped and howled in pain. Clutching its face, the monster turned and ran out into the dense hardwood forest. Heero ran over to his fallen friend.  
  
"Wufei. Wufei!" He sat down beside the crumpled form and found a steady, if weak, pulse. He searched the boy for wounds finding a broken wrist and a large gash across his chest. After retrieving their packs from where they'd been abandoned on the side of the road, Heero bound their wounds, lifted Wufei onto his shoulders, and continued the trek down the forest road. They'd seen the smoke from a chimney half an hour ago, and it had been drawing nearer as they followed the ancient highway. He hoped a friendlier creature than that beast had lit the flame.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
"There's someone on the road."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous, Laki."  
  
"But what if it's one of those boys from the castle." She didn't sound happy about the thought of one of them being in her forest.  
  
"Then he'll have saved me a trip." The brunette replied from the couch where she sat pulling on her boots. She then stood and straightened her traveling cloak. "Come on, we'll greet this traveler, but if it turns out to be the bugganes playing tricks again, you'll have to send them back to their village."  
  
"All right, but I really don't think it's anything native."  
  
The two witches walked leisurely out to the road, and stopped dead in their tracks when the travelers came into clear view.  
  
"Their hurt, I can smell the blood."  
  
"Then let's get them inside, Laki, before someone decides to finish them off!"  
  
They ran the rest of the way to the Japanese youth and relieved him of his burden. Together, they carried the other oriental, while he limped alongside them. After they had entered the cottage, and made the other as comfortable as they could, they took the conscious soldier aside to answer a few questions.  
  
"Who are you, and what happened?"  
  
"We were walking, we were attacked."  
  
"Thank you for stating the obvious, but a little more detail would help."  
  
"I don't know what it was. It was approximately four meters tall, pale, one eye, hairless, large claws—"  
  
"What do you think Laki, Troll or Herman?"  
  
"Let me see your leg."  
  
The braided woman looked at her suspiciously, as Heero began unwrapping his bandage. "Why not use the scratch on his arm?"  
  
"Because, unless I'm mistaken, he did that to himself, when he shot at it."  
  
"How did you know a bullet wound from that distance?"  
  
"Young man, don't ask question to which you do not wish the answers." She turned to her friend. "You're right, it's Herman."  
  
"What were the two of you doing out there?"  
  
"We're searching for a Mrs. Solos."  
  
"And just what would you want with her?  
  
"Our friend Duo wanted us to find her."  
  
"Du—"The witch fainted, luckily falling on the couch behind her.  
  
Heero looked up from the young woman on the couch in time to see a  
young blond woman enter the room.  
  
"What happened?" The tone in her voice commanded respect, she was of medium build with short hair and deceptively warm brown eyes. Heero opened his mouth to answer her but the raven-haired woman next to him beat him to it.  
  
"He and his companion claim to be friends of Duo."  
  
"I see no companion." She seemed to be a woman of some authority.  
  
"He's in the next room, unconscious. Herman attacked them on the main road."  
  
"I wish that beast weren't so gullible. I've tried over and over to tell him not to listen to the ghos-- Did you say Duo?"  
  
This time Heero won out. "Yes, we're looking for his mother, do you ladies know where I can find Mrs. Qahlen Solos?"  
  
"I would introduce you to her, but she's just fainted."  
  
"Hn?!" He looked down at the woman before him in utter disbelief.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\ 


	3. Chapter 3: What was your name again?

Chapter 3: What was your name again?  
  
It took every inch of resolve the soldier had to keep the shock from reordering his stolid façade.  
  
"The woman we're looking for would be at least forty. This girl is barely eighteen."  
  
"She is two hundred and twenty-nine years your senior, child."  
  
The woman in question sat up slowly.  
  
"Misca, I am perfectly capable of answering for myself." She turned to Heero with her face a swirl of confusion and old grief. "How is it that you claim to know my son? He died years ago."  
  
"We don't know that for sure, Qay."  
  
"If he was alive he would have come back a long time ago." She retorted, cowing Laki, who still sat beside her.  
  
"He couldn't. Until yesterday, he didn't remember anything before his seventh year." Wufei had entered the room earlier, unnoticed, and was just now making his presence known. "You were right, Yuy, but now we're trapped in a house full of women."  
  
"Wufei Chang, we meet again."  
  
"Onna, it's Chang Wufei, and what are you doing here?"  
  
"I live here. I am the head of this coven, so I believe the question, Wu-bear, is what are you doing here?"  
  
Heero and Laki turned to the blonde in confusion. "Wu-bear?" They inquired in unison. Wufei glared at her but did not respond to either query. "Misca, the fact that I dated your sister does not give you the right to her pet names. Where is Harmonie by the way?"  
  
"She decided to become a hermit. I think she's somewhere in the Sahara right now."  
  
"Chang, when did you date this woman."  
  
"Before I married Nataku, when I was a student here on Earth. I met her and this demon in Shenghai."  
  
"hn?" He just raised an eyebrow at his companion.  
  
"Can you really know my son?" The question caught Heero off guard; Qahlen had been so quiet since Wufei came in that he had almost forgotten she was there.  
  
"Can you really be his mother?"  
  
"I guess you have the right to an answer." Her tone had softened considerably, since he'd mentioned Duo. "My sisters and I are witches, as Ireland's High Order, we are immortal, here to preserve the balance between the supernatural and the mundane. Two hundred years ago we failed to keep that balance and Ireland has been deserted ever since. Only Misca and Harmonie have bothered to visit the humans since that time."  
  
"If you haven't left in the past two centuries, how do you explain the fact that Duo was born on L2?"  
  
"Duo was born here."  
  
"But how—"  
  
"If you want the answer, I'm afraid you'll have to hear the tale from the beginning, when Roan's ship wrecked on these shores."  
  
"Roan?"  
  
Laki leaned over and whispered, "Duo's father".  
  
"Oh"  
  
"Twenty-six years ago, a storm like few have ever seen ravaged this isle. A one man freighter wrecked near Castle O'Shea, on the other side of the wood by the marsh . . ."  
  
Heero and Wufei listened to the woman's story in wonder as she described the life their friend had spent a decade trying to remember. When her tale was nearing its tragic end, her eyes filled with tears and she couldn't finish.  
  
"I'm sorry . . . I haven't . . . I can't . . ." The one called Laki, put her arm around her friend and began leading her from the chamber. As they reached the door, Laki turned and addressed the travelers.  
  
"I hope for your sakes that you speak the truth. If you put her through this for a lark, I'll personally see that you---"  
  
"Laki, please just take her upstairs. This is no time for threats and accusations." The rebuked witch then continued down the hall, slightly cowed, but still obviously planning the end of her threat.  
  
"Now, Fei-chan," the blonde began, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"She never answered our question, I'm not going to answer yours."  
  
"Wufei, don't patronize her. If she requires an answer of us, before the tale is finished, then we'll give her what she wants."  
  
"Yuy, I know this woman, she won't tell us anything if we actually want to know it, because she likes to see people squirm. You could tell her everything there is to know in this universe, and she still wouldn't tell you how Maxwell ended up on L2. I doubt she even really knows."  
  
"My proof has already been given, Chang. May I remind you that yours has not even been offered. And I can assure you that I do not know how Duo came to be on this colony you speak of. I only know why and who sent him there. Now, if you will be so good as to tell me how you claim to know my nephew, Mr. Yuy, I will be glad to tell you what I know."  
  
"Nine years ago, Fr. Maxwell of the Maxwell church Orphanage found a small braided boy wandering the streets of L2 . . ." Heero told her everything up to the events of two days before. When he finished, the witch smiled and nodded.  
  
"Eon always did like to torment Qay." Tears threatened to begin in her eyes but she fought them down. "Now that I know your story, I shall finish where my friend left off:  
  
Qahlen and I had left that morning to settle a boarder dispute between the ghosts and a small band of banshees. When we returned that evening it was too late. You see, many years ago another witch lived among us here. Like everyone else, her village had tried to burn her. Sentrie never forgave the human race for that. When Roan came, she took an instant disliking to him. Each day her hatred for him grew, though she rarely let it show.  
  
By the time she finally struck, he had lived with us almost ten years and she could no longer stand his presence in her world. With her hatred for the father, came an even stronger loathing of the son. When we arrived, Roan was already dead and only Laki stood between Duo and a death worse than any Fate could prescribe him. Together, the three of us subdued Sentrie and sentenced her according to the laws of the isle. Death for death. She was dutifully tied to a stake in the courtyard. Just before the fire was lit, she cast one last spell. Duo disappeared without a trace, we assumed he had been killed and his ashes cast upon the winds, so as to ban his spirit from this realm. But if what you say is true, then she simply sent him a few years ahead and a few light-years away."  
  
"Why would she leave him alive, if she had risked so much to kill him?"  
  
"No one can answer that. A great wind came through as she burned. We got no answers then. And we probably never will. Tomorrow, we shall all journey to the Castle O'Shea. I suggest the two of you get some sleep." She got up to leave but stopped when she heard the two arguing.  
  
"Yuy, we are not traversing that wood with three women. It's dangerous enough for two soldiers. Besides, Maxwell's probably back to normal by now. By the time we get there, he won't remember any of them and all of this will have been a waste of time."  
  
SMACK! Wufei clutched the side of his face and glared in disbelief at the boy who had just slapped him, too shocked to retaliate and too confused to speak.  
  
"You will not dishonor him in that way again. You and I owe him our lives many times over and giving him the one thing he has spent his entire life believing he could never have is not a waste of anything." With that he turned and exited the room following the blonde sorceress.  
  
Laki held her friend as her tears soaked the left shoulder of her pale blue gown. Stroking the long brown hair, she vowed to kill the two downstairs. Kill them and dispel the spirit who had given them Duo's name. Qahlen straightened up and dried her tear-stained face on the long belled sleeve of her traveling cloak. Laki looked at her strangely until she finally heard footsteps in the corridor. She'd forgotten how much Qay hated to cry in front of any one, it was a sign of how the strangers had gotten to her that Laki had actually seen those rare salt drops on the ancient conjuror's face. Her thoughts were interrupted by the faint creak of old hinges as the door opened behind her.  
  
"Did you send those bastards on their way?" She said without even bothering to turn around.  
  
"No, the 'bastards' are still here."  
  
At the sound of the young man's voice Laki turned to face him, placing herself between him and her friend, as a shield.  
  
"Haven't you done enough damage? Leave, go back to your friends and await your boat. Leave and never return."  
  
"I can't."  
  
"You dare defy me!" Laki raised her left hand and began a low chant. Heero just stood before her without even a hint of fear. The tips of her fingers began to glow with a green energy, when a thin pale hand clasped her wrist.  
  
"No, Laki." Heero could just see the top of the other woman's head, but he could hear the commanding tone in her voice. Walking around the other woman without releasing her wrist, she placed herself between Laki and the young Japanese.  
  
"Why are you protecting him?" Laki's eyes begged for understanding, and for something far more frightening.  
  
"Laki, destroying him won't bring either of them back. Roan died protecting Duo, don't kill the man who's trying to bring him back to us."  
  
"I thought you had learned by now not to trust people so blindly."  
  
Qahlen dropped her sister's wrist as her eyes filled with a blood red mist. "And I thought you had learned long ago who it is you reside with here." She turned to face the soldier at her back, and gasped in shock.  
  
Heero fought to keep his resolve as the witch turned to him with blood in her eyes. He was certain his death lay in those scarlet misted spheres, despite her protests to spare his life. Suddenly they widened in disbelief and once again she started falling toward the flagstones. This time he managed to catch her before she fell too far. Laki glared at him, trying to hide her own alarm. Apparently fainting wasn't as common as it seemed. He gently placed her on the four-poster bed in the far right corner of the small room and exited keeping his back to the wall so as to keep from presenting the other woman with such a tempting target.  
  
Misca, who had watched unobserved from the hall, sent the bewildered youth to an empty room before joining her sisters in Qahlen's bedchamber. Laki was still standing in the same place with one hand raised, remnants of her unfinished spell silent upon her lips, and a look of concern breaking through her shocked paralysis.  
  
"Laki," Misca snapped her fingers in her face. "Laki, snap out of it."  
  
"What did she see? What could have frightened her that much?"  
  
"Well, if you'll stop standing there like a St. John's sacrifice[1], we can find out."  
  
"Yes, yes, of course." Together they went over to the bed, where their sister was beginning to stir.  
  
"Well, Qay, if you're done with the theatrics, do you mind telling us just what it is you've seen."  
  
"All in good time, Misca," She answered, her voice a mix of pain and joy, "all in good time."  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
----------------------- [1] On the Feast of St. John, a village would burn a straw figure dressed as a witch 


	4. Chapter 4: Mists of the Mind

Chapter 4 Mists of the mind.  
  
The morning dawned cool and gray with a heavy mist flooding the depths of the ancient forest. Wufei insisted on walking behind the three women. He would trust no 'weak onna' to guard his back. Misca and Laki led the way, and Heero walked solemnly at Qahlen's side as they formed the middle link of the small human chain. As he walked, Heero couldn't help thinking about the night before. What in him had frightened her so, and if he was so repulsive to her, why didn't she move away from him, and join her sisters? These and many other questions swam through the soldiers confused mind as they traversed the fog; one question being 'how were they finding their way?'. They seemed to be cutting straight through the forest. They certainly weren't using the road, and they certainly weren't using their eyes.  
  
Qahlen's gray cloak and pale skin disappeared into the mist, so that only her swaying braid was visible. Heero found himself comparing her to the castle ghost. He wondered if his hand would pass through her right now if he tried to touch her. 'Where did that come from?' He suddenly discovered he'd been staring and immediately looked away. Why did she affect him this way? Why did part of him feel like he had the right to touch her hair and even a need to hold her? He shook his head to try and clear the foreign thoughts from his mind.  
  
"Headache?"  
  
"What?" He realized the object of those thoughts was speaking to him.  
  
"I asked if you have a headache. Walking in the mist can have a dizzying effect if you're not used to it."  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"Okay. I take it you're not much of one for conversation?"  
  
"That's an understatement!" The shout came from a few feet behind them, buried in the fog.  
  
"She didn't ask you . . . Wu-bear."  
  
"grrrrrrrrrr"  
  
Qay just raised an eyebrow and laughed quietly, she was in a far more joyous mood this morning than last night. Heero suddenly wanted to hear more of that laugh, it wasn't the usual tinkling-of-bells laugh, it was low and musical and he was suddenly addicted to the sound. She noticed him staring at her again as they walked and pulled him out of the way of the rather large oak he was trying to walk through. For a moment he just stared at the hand on his arm, she could feel the muscles go taut beneath her fingers and quickly released him. They finished the day's walk in silence. Him keeping both eyes on the figures ahead of them, and her lost in thought.  
  
As the sun began to set, the weary travelers stopped in a small glade for the night. Heero unrolled his pallet and surveyed his surroundings. It was small, but adequate. The three witches seemed to be circling the forest walls of the clearing and muttering as they went. As they neared the trees nearest him and Wufei, his eyelids grew heavy and both boys fell to their mats in a deep slumber.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Heero was wandering through the witches' castle, Qay had forgotten something and sent him back find it for her. As he searched he found a large ominous black door and chose to avoid it. He continued down a long corridor and searched room after room. Just as he reached for a silver door handle at the end of a twisting hall, a child's scream filled the air. He started running, trying to follow the sound, but it seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. He threw open the doors to every room he passed, but all were empty. Once again he came to the black door, but it was locked, so he kept running, kept searching, time and time again the black door appeared, always locked, finally he stopped and listened, that room was the source of the sound. He had to get through. He slammed his shoulder into the door, but it wouldn't budge. He picked up a statue to use as a battering ram, but it turned to dust in his hands. He threw himself bodily into the door again and again, until finally the hinges broke, along with his collarbone, dislocating his shoulder. He burst into the room, trying to ignore the pain. He saw a small, violet-eyed boy, screaming in terror, as a cackling young woman glared at him with glowing eyes and the beginnings of a spell on her lips and her fingertips. Her short brown hair stood out against the stark whiteness of her skin, as she laughed maniacally at the defenseless child, oblivious to the presence of the man behind her. Heero ran at her, throwing her to the ground and grabbing the boy, trying to hold him with his one good arm and run for help. She wasn't far behind. He ran down staircase after winding staircase, searching for an exit as he clutched the crying child to him.  
  
He burst through a door on the ground floor and found himself in the courtyard. A slim woman with short dark hair stood from her gardening as he ran toward her. It was Laki. She looked at the two in confusion until she saw the other woman pursuing them. She stood calmly between him and her fellow witch, and threw a spell at her. "Sentrie, stop."  
  
Heero knew Laki couldn't hold Sentrie off by herself. He placed the child on the ground and pulled a sword out of the sheath at his side, he didn't know where that had come from, but he was glad to have it. He stood at the young witch's side. Sentrie was muttering something under her breath. Heero looked up to see the child being levitated over his head toward her. He dropped the sword and grabbed the child, trying to pull him back down to Earth.  
  
"No! DUO!!!!"  
  
Heero awoke with a start, his right hand was in the air and the last words of the dream were still fresh from his lips, for a moment he was disoriented. He had been in the castle, what was he doing here, Duo needed him. After a few moments the previous day's events came back to him, but the realness of the dream stayed with him, he could still feel the boy's leg in his hand as he tried to pull him down out of the sky. As reality returned to him, he noticed Qahlen looking down at him in concern.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"Yes, I'm fine." He turned his back to her in a masquerade of sleep. He did not want her to see him in such a state of weakness, or to witness such a breech of his training as a nightmare.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Qahlen watched as the soldier slept. She knew what had caused the dream. She shouldn't have cast that spell herself. Her magic had done this. She ought to have let the others do that section. She knew the sleep would affect those inside the circle as well as without. Only her sisters would be immune to it.  
  
She returned to her own bed and fell back into an uneasy slumber of her own, still pondering the mind of the young man a few feet away.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Duo pushed the heavy oak door as quietly as possible, wincing as it slowly opened on its whining hinges. He looked back over his shoulder into the sleeping castle before making his way out into the night. He adjusted his pack and closed the door.  
  
"I'll find you, Heero. And then I'm gonna kill you and 'Fei for going on a nature walk alone in a place like this." With that he set off down the deserted highway, quite alone, and quite unprepared for the road ahead.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Trowa woke to the sound of the main entrance door being opened and quietly closed on its noisome hinges. He was prepared for this. He knew Duo couldn't leave Heero alone in the forest with Wufei much longer. He grabbed the bag he'd packed two days ago, and followed Duo into the night air as the first traces of daylight met the horizon.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Through the wood an ill wind blew, carrying secrets to a long forgotten cave and the evils that lie within.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
The travelers awoke the next morning to the first hints of sunrise peeking through the trees and the sounds of a fire crackling merrily in the center of camp. Misca was just returning from a successful bit of hunting, and put three freshly skinned rabbits on spits over the blaze. Her sisters welcomed her as did the brown-haired youth, but she noticed Wufei gave her only looks of mistrust.  
  
"Chang, you need not waste your suspicions on me. I will not betray you, there will be no trickery in this wood from me." Wufei looked away, angry at being patronized by the likes of her. He looked to Heero, but the boy was staring openly at the woman who claimed to be Maxwell's mother.  
  
"Earth to Heero. We have to keep our guard up in this forest." He glanced around at the company they kept. "You never know what to expect."  
  
"Hn." He pushed his friend's hand out of his face and jumped up to follow Qahlen as she walked away from the group. He was glad to leave Wufei alone with his conspiracies.  
  
Qay wandered away from the group. She wanted some time alone to ponder the past two days, and decide what to do about the dark-haired teen who called himself Heero. Each witch has a special talent that she brings to her coven, an area of magic in which she was stronger than most. Qahlen and her 'sisters' were no exception. Misca could read the human soul like a book, and was impossible to lie to. She also had some insight into the future, though she was forbidden to do anything to change what she knew would come to pass. Laki could communicate with any creature, magical or mundane, and understand their motivations. Most of the inhabitants of that wood considered her a goddess, and few would dare harm her or any in her company. Qahlen's gift was rare, even among witches. She could look into the soul and see every day of every past life a person had lived. If she so chose she could know a person more intimately than they knew themselves. It is a powerful gift, and a dangerous one. She dared not discover the true extent of her power, for to know too much is a dangerous thing. She could also communicate with the dead and the spirits that haunted the island often complained to her of their troubles.  
  
What troubled her now was no message from Eon or his troublesome friends, but what she had seen in the boy that night, when she peered into his soul. She recognized him. She knew him. She had met that soul twenty- seven years ago, and now the touch of her magic had brought back a memory of who he'd been. It had begun with a story he partly knew. She was certain the dream had been of his last moments, but if the dreams continued, he would remember more. He would remember the years he had spent there with her. He would know who he had been. He would know everything. And then he would return to his war. She had seen that too. He was a dedicated soldier whose training had been to thorough for him to ever abandon his goal. She could not bare to have him come back to her only to leave again, possibly to die, again. She had to decide now whether to stop the process begun by the touch of her spell. She could do it with a word, but did she want to? She was on her way to finding Duo, this was her chance to have her family back. But was it fair to Heero? He had a life of his own to live. Remembering, becoming Roan again, might take that away. She owed the one who was bringing her son back to her more than that, much more. She would think about it through the day, and when the night came she would end it, and let him remain who he had become. Her husband was dead and gone, she could not bring him back . . .  
  
"Mrs. Solos"  
  
"Call me Qay. My husband's been gone too long for me to hide behind his name any more." The sadness that filled her voice seemed far more recent than a loss thirteen years old.  
  
"What was he like?"  
  
"Roan? He was a soldier. He was given a dishonorable discharge, for disobeying orders. That's why he turned to the sea." She saw the distaste on Heero's face at the thought of disobeying orders. "He refused to bomb a civilian hospital that was rumored to conceal an enemy base. They discovered later that there was no base and tried to get him to come back. They even offered him a promotion, but he wouldn't go. He had a boat and a shipping contract. He no longer trusted his superior officers. So he was better off at sea." Heero's expression softened. He understood the tragedy of the senseless deaths of innocents.  
  
"He sounds like a good man."  
  
"He was."  
  
"So what are you doing?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"You've been standing over here alone for the past ten minutes, you looked like you were searching for something."  
  
"Only a few answers."  
  
"Answers to what?"  
  
"Life, the universe, everything."  
  
"Forty-two."  
  
"What?"  
  
"That's what Duo always says when that question comes up. It's from an old book he likes. He keeps saying I should read it, but I never have . . ." By the time they returned to the others, all were ready to move on. They fell into step in the middle of the human caravan without a pause in conversation.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Quatre wandered the castle halls calling the names of his friends as he went. Where could they be? They had abandoned him, left him alone with none but the ghosts for company. A cold draft ran through the hall and he walked a little faster, calling the names as loudly as he could.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Duo had been walking for three hours when he realized he was being followed. He quickly dove to the side of the road and hid in some tall bushes. By the time Trowa walked by, there was already a low trip wire set. As he hit the ground , he heard the distinctive laugh of Shinigami, and growled.  
  
"You sound like Wufei." Duo could barely hold the laugh in as he helped his friend to his feet.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"For a walk." He started walking down the path again. Trowa immediately fell into step.  
  
"Then I suggest you turn around. Isn't this far enough for one morning."  
  
"Now why would you say that?" Duo started walking a bit faster.  
  
"The others will be back any day now, why don't we head back so that we don't miss them?"  
  
"Because," Here he began to skip and sing loudly," I'm off to the see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz, because, because, because . . ." By now he had entered the forest and his voice was slightly muffled by the surrounding trees. As Trowa ran after him a large web dropped between the first two trees blocking the road. He was caught in an instant. He looked up to see a dozen tiny balls of light, and heard as many tiny voices sing as they left him to follow his friend. "because of the wonderful things he does."  
  
"DU---" Two of the lights returned with a gag of thick spider's web and silenced his warning cry. Trowa could only watch as Duo merrily made his way into the lair of the lights.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\ 


	5. Chapter 5: Eyes of the Beholder

Chapter Five: The eye of the beholder  
  
As the day wore on, Wufei became more and more suspicious of Qahlen. Surely she had cast a spell on Heero, he hadn't spoken this much in his life. Yet as the day continued neither stopped the ceaseless chatter, stories about Duo of all things, and Heero wasn't even telling the best parts. The woman on the other hand held nothing back, but baby stories are useless against someone with no memory of his childhood.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Misca listened to her sister as she spoke. She hadn't told those stories in years, and certainly never with as much joy. There was no doubt that the stranger was good for her, though he was definitely softening the tales he told, probably for the better. Qay was already disturbed by the fact that her son had so dangerous a profession. These Gundams he spoke of sounded like mechanical demons, but she knew better. She had seen cars and computers. These creatures were just creative combinations of the two. She was glad her nephew was so well protected in battle. She looked ahead, by mid-afternoon their path would merge with the highway. She did not wish to camp on the road, but knew they'd never make it out of the forest before nightfall.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Quatre looked up a tall winding flight of stairs. He could barely hear voices coming from that direction. "Trowa? Is that you? Duo? Come on guys, this isn't funny. What are you doing up there?" Slowly began his way up the steps in the highest tower.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Duo's skipping brought him deep into the forest. When he realized Trowa hadn't followed it didn't seem to matter. Nothing mattered really except being here in this beautiful place, running amongst the trees. Now that he thought about it, why was he staying on this boring road. The wood was far more interesting off the beaten path., and there was a cute, happy little light hovering beside a towering oak a few yards off. Now wasn't that odd, a floating light, but it made him feel so happy to see it, that he just had to get a closer look. He approached the light, and reached out to touch it. The light chose that moment to jump and run off zigzagging among the trees. Duo laughed and ran after it, eager to join in it's game. A dozen tiny points of light followed as the teen was led deeper into the darkest regions of the forest, and one broke off to fly ahead, and report. The cave was ready, and Mother would want to know her guest was on his way.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Just as they reached the road, Misca called the company to a halt, and called her sisters off to the side.  
  
"Watch them, we know the dangers of the open highway, they do not. Their wounds haven't healed enough to keep them from smelling like blood. Laki, I want you to walk with Wufei. He's most likely to become a target. Qay, I want you to lead. I'll walk with Heero."  
  
"But . . ."  
  
"But nothing. I need you as a first defense."  
  
"Yes, ma'am." She started out and the others could nothing but follow.  
  
"Qay . . . don't . . . oh forget it." She caught up with Heero in time to stop him from going to Qay's side. Laki fell in step beside Wufei, though the young Chinaman protested mightily. Heero turned and waved a very large silver ring at him. The boy was instantly silenced, though he never stopped glaring at his 'friend'.  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"This." He held up the large circlet. "It's duct tape. Useful in all things, from repairing cars to silencing the overly vocal."  
  
"One day you'll have to show me how it works, it sounds absolutely wonderful."  
  
"Sure." He put it back in his bag, and nodded toward Qay, who was stalking dejectedly ahead of them. A confused sadness hinted at the edge of his features. "Did she say why she wanted to walk alone all of a sudden."  
  
Misca smiled and kept the boy satisfied with a reasonable explanation, similar to the on she'd given her sisters. He quickly lapsed back into his old silence. She didn't mind it was much easier to read him when she didn't have to keep a conversation going as she went.  
  
She began to concentrate on his aura, but nothing happened. Confused she tried again, harder this time, but still got nothing. Finally she focused all of her will into the spell, it bounced back and knocked her off her feet. Heero caught her deftly and had her back on her feet before the two behind them caught up. She stared at him in confusion, but he didn't seem to notice. Suddenly she realized what was going on and threw a glare at the woman in front of them.  
  
What are you hiding, Q  
  
You'll know in good time, sister, but I need to handle this alone. For now, stay out of it, I beg of you.  
  
Stay out of it. Stay out of it! Who is in charge here?  
  
If you command it of me, I shall obey, you know that. But also know that I will never be more than a subordinate to you if you do.  
  
"Are you alright?" Misca noticed that the boy had already said it three times.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine, I just tripped on a stone." Heero looked at her quizzically. He had been staring at the ground for the past twenty minutes; there hadn't been anything for her trip on, stone or otherwise. He pondered this for a moment, but soon something far more important came along. Namely a dragon, and it was attacking Qay.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
It came out of nowhere. It just dropped out of the air, barely missing Quatre's head. The chandelier shattered on the second story landing. "Aah!" He abandoned the stairs and ran for the nearest room. Ducking inside, he slammed the door behind him. He turned around and leaned on the door, sliding all the way down to the floor. Then he looked up, and screamed.  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Trowa pulled at the web, but the more he struggled the more entrapped he became. If he could just get to the knife on his belt . . ., but his belt was too far from his hands. Angrily he resigned himself to capture, and somehow fell asleep.  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
The dragon loomed over Qahlen, roaring angrily, it reared back to roast her with its fiery breath. Heero ran and placed himself between her and the oncoming flames. He put his hands up to protect his face and waited to die. When he didn't feel the heat coming, he looked up . . .just in time to be pelted with millions of jellybeans. Wufei, Laki, and Misca laughed. Heero glared. Qay growled.  
  
"Shinku, that wasn't funny." The dragon looked down, and Heero noticed for the first time that it was pink.  
  
"You never let me have any fun, little Q." Heero stared as the dragon shrank and quickly morphed into the form of a young woman with short red hair and true Irish green eyes. She wore a symbol at her throat that he did not recognize, and the long black gown she wore fluttered in the breeze as she stood imposingly before Qahlen, which was quite a feat as this woman was at least four inches shorter than Qay. "I didn't hurt him, I didn't turn him into anything repulsive. All in all I think I behaved rather well."  
  
"Qay, who is that?" Heero had recovered from his shock, and back behind the rock-hard mask of soldiers.  
  
"Heero, this is my sister, Shinku."  
  
"That's the Almighty Glorious Shinku to you." She extended her hand like a queen holding court and Heero ignored her, turning his back to her, to speak to Qay. To say she was angry about being ignored would be an injustice. The woman was livid, and Shinku had ways of dealing with those who wronged her.  
  
"You would ignore the Great Shinku? I will teach you some manners, child." She snapped her fingers and Heero found himself caught up in a small whirlwind. When the world finally stopped spinning, he realized two things, one being that he was now very small, and the other that a large leather boot was about to come crashing down on him. He leapt out of the way, and was scooped up by two giant hands.  
  
"Shinku! What are you trying to do?"  
  
"I wouldn't have killed him, just squashed him a bit till he apologized."  
  
"Shinku, change him back."  
  
"Do it yourself, if you want him back so badly."  
  
"You know I can't." Heero tried to glower at her, but his face had suddenly grown stiff. "See look, he's sorry, you can see it in his face."  
  
"One of these days, I'll teach you about cricket expressions." Cricket. Heero was shocked. He was a cricket?! He tried to look at himself but he couldn't turn enough to see.  
  
"Look, he knows not to cross you now, isn't that enough."  
  
"Shut up, Misca, or you'll join him."  
  
Misca glared, but held her tongue. Shinku looked into her sister's disapproving gaze. "All right. All right. Here." She gestured at the cricket and Qay quickly put him back on the ground. Heero was relieved a moment later, when he was his own size and shape again., but Qay, still looked angry. Heero looked down at himself and realized his skin was dead white and covered with large black cow spots.  
  
"All of it Shinku."  
  
"Party-pooper." She gestured again, and Heero's skin returned to its former shade.  
  
"Thank you. Now if you will excuse us, we'll be on our way."  
  
"Ooh, can I come."  
  
"NO!"  
  
"I didn't ask you." She glared at Misca and Laki, who had protested simultaniously.  
  
"No, Shinku. Please just let us get goin."  
  
"I won't do what you want till you call me---"  
  
"Chibi Shinku, I know, I know." She cleared her throat. "Chibi Shinku will you please allow us to depart, we would all be eternally grateful." She bowed formally and Shinku disappeared. The disembodied voice of Shinku made one last comment.  
  
"You know, you were a lot more fun a hundred years ago."  
  
Qahlen sighed in relief when her sister had finally departed.  
  
"Qay, what's she doing here?" Misca had found her tongue again in full force.  
  
"I don't know, but you can bet this trip is going to get a lot more interesting from now on."  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\ 


	6. Chapter 6: Beyond the Grave

Chapter Six: Beyond the grave  
  
After hours of merrily chasing the little globe of light, Duo finally caught up with it. He pounced on it and held it. Like a child holding a new toy he turned the ball over in his hands, watching the way the light spilled through his fingers. It was the size of a baseball. He threw it in the air and it actually came back. It seemed to like him. It felt warm in his hand. He smiled and carried it with him as walked on through the forest. He had no idea which direction he'd come from now, but it didn't seem to bother him. One direction was really as good as another now that he really put his mind to it. What are east and west anyway, or north and south for that matter? It really doesn't matter which way you go as long you go some way. Duo thought it strange that he was thinking so clearly and reasoning so soundly, but he didn't see anything wrong with it. He finally decided to continue going the way he ball had been leading him. He walked that way till sunset. Holding the ball in front of him for light, he found a small cave in which to spend the night.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Deep within the cave, the dark one grinned. sixteen years had come and gone, but now revenge would come on far swifter wings. The wind was sent out again to find news of other things, while its master rested for the time to come.  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
That night as the group settled in for the evening, Heero found himself pondering his dream of the night before. Surely it was due to the blond conjurer's story, but it had been so real. Like he'd actually been present when Duo and his father were attacked. He wondered at the sword with the dragon hilt, and the symbol on its breast. Now that he thought back he could recall more details of the sword, though he had not had time to examine it in his dream. The hilt had formed a dragon's torso and arms complete with tiny steel talons. The rest of the body and tail coiled around the blade as though holding it in place. The head served as the pommel and its blood ruby eyes glared out of the cold steel. Wire wings formed the cage. It was a beautiful weapon.  
  
The oddest feature of this magnificent sword was a symbol carved across the dragon's chest. Heero didn't know why he could recall it. Surely it had rested against his palm out of sight, yet in his mind he could clearly see the faint outlines on the well-worn hilt: a heart, bearing a regal crown, resting in two slim hands. He tried to remember more, but some things were hidden in mental shadow. All that remained clear was the sword, the mad witch, and a braided boy with violet eyes screaming for his father . . .  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Duo entered the cave to find a cool stream of underground water flowing through along the rear wall. As he drank of the icy waters a drowsiness overtook him and he curled up in a darkened corner. He soon fell into a deep sleep. The fairies covered him with a blanket of cobwebs and spanish moss, loosened his hair, and wove it with nightshade blossoms. This done they smiled at the childe and lifted their enchantments from his mind. They called to the will-o-the-wisp in his pocket, but she refused to leave his side. A little bewildered the Fae departed to report to Titania, glad to be done with the dark one's business, glad their queen owed her nothing more.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Trowa jerked and twisted against the web, but the thick tendrils held him fast. For the thousandth time he shouted his friend's name into the night. For the thousandth time none answered, and for the thousandth time he sighed into the darkness.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
The child smiled out of the bundle of blankets he held. Violet eyes stared up at him blinking as they saw light for the first time. Pudgy fingers reached up to grab his own. Misca beamed at her sister, Laki stood at her friend's bedside, and in the corner Sentrie sneered in disgust before stomping out of the room.  
  
"He's so tiny."  
  
"What should we call him, my Love?"  
  
"Duo." Heero smiled down at Qay and bent low to kiss her lightly.  
  
Heero woke with a start. He could have sworn he'd heard someone calling Duo's name in the distance. 'Must have been the dream.' He returned to sleep almost immediately. Four feet away, Qahlen sat up and stared into the dark forest. She hadn't felt that presence in many years. It was times like this she wished she couldn't feel at all.  
  
Meanwhile, Heero continued to dream of a life he hadn't lived, of a child not his own, of a sword he'd never seen, and of a woman he had met only two days before. Qay saw the smile on his face, sensed the memories flooding his dreams and wished she didn't have to stem the flow, but if he learned who he had been . . . She didn't know what would happen, but she knew she couldn't let it continue. It had destroyed men in the past. She remembered the stories of people who had had those memories surface; they had all been burned or institutionalized. She had loved who he had been too much to let that happen. As she corrected what she had inadvertently done, a single tear fell into his hair, never felt, leaving no trace of itself but the damp line on her cheek.  
  
"Goodbye, Roan."  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Late the next morning they found Trowa, dehydrated and half starved, still hanging from the web across their path. Heero and Wufei ran to cut him down. Dazedly, he looked up at his friends, a mix of fear and relief on his wearied face. Oddly he spoke directly to Qay, as though he knew who she was and had known her for years.  
  
"Duo's in the forest."  
  
"What?!" Four voices yelled together as Qay took in the pilot's statement. 'So I was right. She has returned to finish what she started sixteen years ago. Don't worry my son. I won't fail you this time.'  
  
Misca saw the look on her sister's face. "Qay what is it? What do you sense?"  
  
"We'll find him in the caves, but we must hurry."  
  
"You two take your friend back to the castle. Laki, let's go."  
  
"No."  
  
"What now, Qay? I thought we needed to hurry." Qay looked the blond in the eyes and she backed down.  
  
"We are, but we need these two with us. The other is weakened and will have to remain behind."  
  
"Qay, we can't take these children into the forest."  
  
"They survived the road to find us. And ill armed I might add. We need them. We can't get Duo back without them." Misca knew better than to argue with Qay when it came to her child.  
  
"Alright. Everyone let's go." Laki performed a sustaining spell on the weakened pilot to make sure he could make it back to the castle alone.  
  
"We'll have to find blades for them. Their guns are useless in there." Laki rarely spoke in times like these, but what she said was always invaluable. Wufei pulled a katana from his pack and presented it for her inspection. She could see as he pulled it that he knew how to handle a sword. She looked to Heero. He shook his head. He had nothing but his gun. He had rarely needed anything else. He only knew the basics of swordplay anyway, and couldn't possibly use one effectively in a fight. Laki looked worried. She turned to her sisters to see if they had anything he might use. When she looked to Qahlen the woman pulled a long roll of cloth from her bag. As she unwrapped the bundle, Laki gasped in shock as did the imperturbable Misca.  
  
"I brought this to give to Duo. Something to remember his father by, but I guess it's fitting that it see one last battle before retirement." She had revealed a sword. As Heero looked at it over her shoulder, he realized it wasn't just any sword. It was the sword from his dreams, Roan's sword. Last night he had been battling an ogre with it when suddenly the forest surrounding him, the ogre itself and even the sword had melted away. He was suddenly in an Oz base fighting guards who held Duo prisoner. He lost that fight and awoke just before his would-be executioner pulled the trigger. The black haired woman had been grinning with pure evil in her eyes.  
  
As Qay handed him the blade, he stared at it. It was exactly as he recalled it from his dreams, every detail of the dragon hilt, the sparkle of the two blood red spheres, the worn lines of the unknown symbol, even the scratch along the blade where he had pulled it from the ogre's grasp. When Qay saw his reaction to the sword, she was afraid he had remembered too much, but he didn't confront her. He merely met her gaze with determination and courage so much like the man she remembered, and the five warriors set out to save the braided boy from his ill fate.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Quatre had been searching the house for two days. He had seen flying chairs, mirrors that broke themselves as soon as he entered their reflections, books knocking each other down fighting for shelf space, and even a transparent young woman who screamed at him and chased him around the room till he finally broke down the door that had locked itself behind him. Now he had reached the top of the tower and he feared what he might find there, but if his friends were still in the castle this was the last place they could be. His hand shook violently as he twisted the doorknob. He took one step into the room and was pulled to the center by a force he couldn't name or even comprehend. The room was filled with oddities collected over many years: antique furniture, books, candleholders, old paintings of expressionless nobles, and many other things most of which defied description, but Quatre did not have time to look around. A feminine voice dripping with power filled the room, but he couldn't find its source.  
  
"Oh, goody, someone's come to play!" Quatre screamed as a red haired woman in a flowing black gown materialized before him. "I'm so glad you came to visit." Quatre tensed as she came nearer, circling him like a predator inspecting easy prey. "The others told me to leave. Don't you think that was rude?" He only gulped as quietly as possible. She began to laugh maniacally at the frightened teen. "We're going to have so much fun." Somehow he knew he didn't want to know this woman's definition of 'fun.'  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
They covered ground far faster than Duo had in his frolicking and by the end of the day were only an hour from the caves. Exhausted, they unrolled their pallets and fell asleep without speaking to each other. Misca was awake for some time though. She knew Qay. The younger witch knew more than she was telling. She knew who they were up against. Why was she afraid to name their enemy? What put that much fear in a High Witch of Ireland? She knew of only one person Qahlen had ever feared or even hated, but that woman was thirteen years dead and scattered, there was no way for her to threaten Duo now, unless . . . no, her ashes had scattered. Sentrie was gone; nothing could have brought her back from that.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Duo woke up with flowers in his hair. He had kicked off the fairies' blanket in the night. 'Where am I?' He remembered trying to convince Trowa to come with him into the forest, and something about the Wizard of Oz, but none of that explained why he was waking up alone in a dark cave.  
  
"Duo" A voice whispered in the darkened cave.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Duo"  
  
"Heero? Where are you?"  
  
"This way." He followed the voice deeper into the cave into a small tunnel that led deep underground. He could hear the stream flowing along the cave wall to his right.  
  
"Heero, where are we goin'?"  
  
"The others are down here. We've been waiting for you." Duo thought that sounded a little strange, but the guys had probably found this place on their walk. The tunnel leveled out and opened into a large cavern. Water dripped from the spiked ceiling and someone sat on a carved throne high upon a stone pillar, laughing scornfully.  
  
"What did you do to my friends?" He was on the defensive looking everywhere for his comrades. The woman on the throne smiled, she was clothed in shadow and her eyes had an unearthly glow, her long dark hair flew wildly around her head riding a wind he couldn't feel. She opened her mouth and his partner's voice issued from her pale throat.  
"This way. We've been waiting." The voice suddenly became deep and feminine, saturated with malice. "Did you really believe that? It's a pity I didn't get to kill you as a child. You've grown to be such a disappointment."  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Trowa approached the castle slowly. It was half a day's walk at the best of times. Now he'd be lucky to make it in two. He just hoped Quatre wouldn't be too angry when he got there. The little Arab hated to be alone, and they had left him that way for going on three days. Remembering Quatre's stint with the Zero system, he slowed his pace. There really wasn't any need to hurry.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
The warriors rose with the sun and entered the cave before it had finished its assent. The five entered the darkness cautiously, not knowing what to expect or whom. They followed the stream's current down a steep tunnel, winding their way toward the bowels of the earth.  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Duo stared at the woman's familiar face as every hair rose on the back of his neck. She was talking about things he didn't understand, but her hatred for him was obvious and deadly.  
  
"Don't look so surprised. You look too much like your father that way."  
  
"You knew my father?"  
  
"Knew him? Child I killed him, as I will kill you as soon as your mother arrives."  
  
"My mother is dead."  
  
"Oh, no little one. I am dead. Your slut mother is quite alive." Duo tried to attack the woman for her slander, but he couldn't move. Something was holding him in place. He struggled against invisible bonds.  
  
"You're lying!"  
  
"You don't know, do you? Oh how precious! It's so nice to see one's work last. I thought that spell would have worn off by now. Have you been this close to her for this long and not known? It's absolutely delicious. I can't wait to see Qay's face when her baby boy can't remember her name." The wicked laughter filled the cavern and Duo fumed.  
  
"You're pathetic."  
  
"Oh no child, far from it. Pathetic is falling into my trap a second time. Pathetic was your father trying to save you from me. Pathetic was him dying for a worthless creature like you. Although, I would have killed him anyway." Duo spat at her and cursed her with every profanity he'd heard in his short life. "Very good child, you've become a true human. I'll bet you've cheered at a witch burning and stoned prophets. The blood of your father and his fowl people runs true in you. They stopped me from killing you before, but they won't this time."  
  
"Oh won't we?" Duo strained against the spells holding him, trying to turn and see the source of the familiar voice. Who was this woman? Something in him remembered comfort and protection when she spoke, but he couldn't remember why.  
  
"Qay, and you brought guests. Now we're all here. The party's about to begin." Duo felt himself rise toward the stalactite-studded ceiling. The woman with the soothing voice began chanting words he couldn't understand and he began a slow descent in mid-air. "Sorry, Sis, but it won't be that easy." With a gesture from the shadowed woman, Qahlen and the others were thrown to the ground and Duo began to rise again. Misca looked into the face of evil and finally recognized her.  
  
"Sentrie?"  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\  
  
Everyone froze in shocked horror, as the woman rose from her throne and glared down at them with sadistic glee. Her laughter filled the cave and shook loose several stone spikes, one landing in front of each of her would-be opponents. As the others sat in shock, Heero stood and approached her.  
  
"Let him go." The soldier's mask was back in full force, the sword felt comfortable in his hand and for once he felt confident in using it.  
  
"How marvelous! I get to kill you again. Poor little Qay, losing them both all over again, it must be so painful for you." Her smile grew. "Painful as the flames you lit beneath me." Her hands began to glow and a ball of orange flame grew between them. She threw it at Qahlen and the others, but Heero sliced at it with his sword. To his surprise it extinguished on contact. "NO!" She threw another, this time at Heero, but the others had revived from their initial shock and the three witches cast a shield over him. The fireball died a few inches from his nose.  
  
Wufei drew his sword. The witches each prepared their spells and all approached the woman who dared return from the dead. She snapped her fingers and a dozen warriors of various races swarmed down on them from every corner of the cavern. As the five fought fiercely, Sentrie brought Duo to her side and bound him to her throne. She wanted her vendetta to have the full attention of her chosen audience.  
  
Heero slashed through a reptilian creature with horns and long jagged fangs. It's black blood pooled around the ravaged body as he moved on to its fellow creature of the night. Duo was stunned to say the least. Heero didn't know how to use a sword. He'd even tried to teach him once or twice, but the perfect soldier was just useless with a blade, or so it had seemed. Heero was now cutting through his fourth opponent and had only a minor cut on his brow to show for the other three. The battle raged on. As the last demon fell, Duo sought his rescuers among the dead. All appeared alive at least, Wufei was unconscious, the witch with the short dark hair had drug herself over to him and trying her best to revive the pilot. The blond was leaning against the stone; she seemed confused and barely able to stand. Only two now stood between him and what he knew would be a painful death. The woman Sentrie had called Qay, who looked so familiar, but the thought made his head ache. The memory was buried deeper than he would ever be able to go. His other remaining savior was his best friend, his partner, Heero Yuy. He had trusted Heero with his life many times, and he knew that he shouldn't doubt him now, but something in the back of his mind screamed that he had failed to protect him before. Dammit, why couldn't he remember? He knew now that it was partly the fault of the witch, but she had said it shouldn't have lasted, part of him was keeping those memories closed off now, if only he could break through.  
  
Sentrie was glaring down at the pair. Heero charged at her sword drawn. The witch waved a dismissively and he flew into the stone wall of the cavern. He hit the ground with an echoing crash, and all knew he would not rise soon. Qahlen turned to him, but she didn't have time to cushion his fall. The black beast before her was too fast. "Why, Sen? Why are doing this?"  
  
"You had me killed."  
  
"You murdered my husband, Sentrie. Why?"  
  
"He was human. You're a witch. You're better than him."  
  
"When did you become a purist? What happened to the friend I sat up with so many nights, fighting your nightmares? What happened to the friend who helped me bathe his wounds when he first came here? Why betray did you betray me? I trusted you. I called you my sister. Why?"  
  
"He was stealing you from me!" Sentrie stopped as she heard herself speak words she hadn't even admitted to herself. She hadn't killed him for being human. She had killed him out of jealousy for her friend's time and attention. She had trusted few people in her many years, all had betrayed her, but one. That one had been taken from her by a human, a stranger. Her true reasons unraveled her anger slightly, but a dead woman's vengeance cannot be thwarted by words.  
  
"Sentrie, he wasn't—"  
  
"It doesn't matter. I'll kill you and your bastard son. It is you who have betrayed me." She swept down from her thrown, launching spells at her former sister. The witch in grey threw up a shield. The curses pounded at her defenses, but she didn't know how to fight her. She didn't even know if she could. Even with the death of her husband, it had killed her to light a flame under her old friend. It killed her now to see what her negligence had created. This dark husk of a person she had known and cared for. She couldn't stand the sight of the monster she had made.  
  
When she looked away her eyes fell to Heero. His aura glowed bright and she knew when he woke he would know exactly why he was here, why he had become Duo's friend, and why he had fought so fiercely against these horrors. She saw a man she had known all those years ago once again struck down. She looked up at her son, bound and gagged, waiting to be executed. These were not the actions of the friend she had known. The thing before her was only her malice, so strong it survived the grave. Looking within herself, Qay suddenly knew how to end this. She pulled all of her power together, and focused it on the dead witches soul. Fighting the instinct to hold back she let her power realize its full potential as it ripped through what remained Sentrie Blade. A hellish scream filled the caves and echoed out into the forest.  
  
The woman clothed in shadow was being torn apart from the inside. Her flesh boiled as smoke began to rise from her resurrected corpse. The smell of burning flesh and hair filled the cavern as the fires fed and quickly consumed her. When all was finished there were no ashes left to scatter. A wind blew through the cavern raging in despair, but to no avail. Sentrie was truly gone. With her death, so too did all of her remaining spells die. Duo found himself free and ran down the steep stone steps. He reached Qay just as she collapsed from exhaustion. He caught her gently and lowered her to the floor, cradling her head in his lap. He looked at the now calm face and a single word surfaced in his mind.  
  
"Mother?"  
  
/~\~/~\~/~\ 


	7. Chapter 7: A Tying of Loose Ends

Chapter Seven: The Tying up of Loose ends  
  
The five warriors had taken the night to heal. Now, with their battle won, and Duo safely in their midst, they could begin the long trek toward the castle. Heero had not spoken since the battle. As morning sun rose in full, he approached Qahlen, who had been awake since dawn talking with Duo. Heero stopped where she sat and pulled her to her feet and into an embrace the likes of which even lovers rarely know. He kissed her lightly, and she knew he remembered everything.  
  
"Why did you fight me? I worked so hard to come back to you."  
  
"Why did you leave me?" Tears spilled from her eyes.  
  
"I had to protect Duo. Reincarnation was my only chance of doing that." She wept openly into his shoulder as Duo stared on in confusion. "I'm sorry. Shh. It's alright now. Shh." He kissed her again more passionately this time and Duo stood angrily.  
  
"Hey, man! That's my mother, you know."  
  
"Shut up, Son." And to everyone's surprise, Duo did just that. He stared at Heero in complete shock, and reached out with the little power his mother's heritage had given him. He was stunned, the father he'd been searching for all these years, had, in a way, been with him all this time. He smiled broadly at the family he'd wished for, and laughed. His mother looked 18, and his father, well his father was at least six months younger than himself. He picked up his father's sword, now clean and resting to the side in its sheath, unlikely to ever do battle again. It truly was an incredible sword. He looked at the faint symbol etched into the dragon's chest.  
  
"Uhm, what's this?"  
  
"I'd almost forgotten you put it there." Roan/Heero looked to his wife. "You never did explain what you were carving on my weapons." Qahlen smiled remembering that day years ago. She traced the figure with her fingers and explained its parts as she touched each of them.  
  
"The crown of loyalty, the hands of friendship, and a heart for love. The Kladdagh signifies love and family and devotion. It was part of my family crest, what I wanted for us."  
  
Duo pondered these things along with his newfound memories as they walked back to the castle. They caught up with Trowa near the entrance. He had obviously been taking his time, not wanting to face the blond Arab's wrath alone. Wufei filled him in on the events of the past few days and Duo filled in the bits Wufei hadn't been conscious for. The four pilots opened the large oak double doors and all entered the great hall in high spirits. As they reached the end of the hall they stopped dead in their tracks. A small boy was sitting in a corner, knees pulled to his chest trying to make himself as small as possible. Trowa went to his friend's side and tried to lift him into a standing position. He wouldn't budge.  
  
"Quatre. Quatre." He shook his friend's shoulders trying to get him to snap out of it. "What happened, Q-chan, what's wrong?" Quatre finally looked up at him with a crazed look in his eyes, his face was pale and his hair and clothes disheveled. When he spoke it was with a high- pitched wavering voice filled with insanity and nothing of the boy's usual cheery resolve.  
  
"I know why the raven is the like the writing desk." Only Qahlen and her sisters knew what had happened. Together they looked up into the depths of the house and shouted.  
  
"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnkuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!"  
  
~Owari~  
  
Thanks for reading, I hope this time the format came out right. The first time I uploaded this, it squished things together causing a true mess. I hope this is less confusing and a little easier to read. N'joyeth. 


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